There isn’t a football fan in Canada — whether they be aficionados of the CFL, NFL, Canadian college or U.S. university variety — that doesn’t know who Farhan Lalji is.
Lalji has become one of Canada’s foremost football experts, if not THE foremost — on all those levels as a reporter, analyst and occasional play-by-play voice for TSN. He’s also been a community builder for the sport in British Columbia.
Lalji’s family moved to Burnaby when he was six. Lalji played football for Burnaby Central and after graduating in1986 he helped coach the team from 1987 to 2000. He did a stint as Simon Fraser University’s sports information director in the early 1990s before becoming a sports reporter for CBC Vancouver from 1995 to 1997.
He joined TSN as a regional reporter in 1997 and while he covers all the regional sports for the network he as become one of TSN’s football experts. Lalji has covered 22 Grey Cups, 16 Super Bowls and 12 NCAA championships. He is frequently seen on the sidelines of CFL games as a reporter for TSN and occasionally is in the booth as a play-by-play announcer as well as anchoring TSN’s coverage of the annual CFL Canadian college draft. His in-depth knowledge of football at all levels — professional, collegiate and even high school — is not only on display on TSN throughout the year but he’s also a frequent expert commentator for many broadcast and podcast outlets on both sides of the border.
He’s not all football though. He reports extensively on the Vancouver Canucks including covering Stanley Cup finals as well as reporting from NBA finals, MLB and NBA all-star games, the U.S. Open and PGA golf championships and three Olympic Games.
“The best athletes I’ve ever covered were (former Vancouver Canucks stars and Hockey Hall of Fame members) Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Just class individuals who understood we all had a two-way relationships. They conducted themselves with pure class and professionalism and were interested in who we were beyond the mic also,” Lalji tells the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame about those he admired.
“In terms of broadcasters (CBC news anchor and reporter) Ian Hanomansingh was a trailblazer for Canadian broadcasters of South Asian descent and (national play-by-play announcer) Chris Cuthbert, Rod Smith (TSN), Barry Macdonald (CBC, Sports Page, TSN1040) and Burnaby’s Don Taylor (inducted by the hall two years ago) are men that I’ve learned a tremendous amount from and I appreciated their mentorship early in my career.”
His work has allowed Lalji to be almost Forrest Gump-like in his ability to be in the right place when something momentous occurred.
“From watching Usain Bolt win gold medals in London (2012), to Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) and Kobe (Bryant) win their first NBA title, to (Sydney) Crosby’s Golden Goal in 2010, Jordan’s last shot with the (Chicago) Bulls and countless Super Bowl and Grey Cup signature finishes, it’s been quite the experience,” he says.
“But mostly my memories come from the people I work with. I’ve had some outstanding teammates along the way that have pushed me to be better and I was excited to share these moments with them.”
His community contributions have also earned him a place in the BC Football Hall of Fame. In 2003, Lalji revived the dormant football program at New Westminster Secondary School, not only serving as its head coach but also cultivating sponsorships for the program to make it thrive and helping many of its players obtain post-secondary scholarships.
The football hall said “there are few individuals who have had as profound an impact on the growth of high school football in BC than Farhan Lalji.” His efforts in growing sponsorship for the organization included obtaining sponsorship from Subway for the provincial championship games to be held in BC Place and to appear on television from 2002 to 2012. Lalji pioneered the provincial high school football all-star awards dinner and annual all-star games and went on to serve as BC High School Football president from 2010 to 2012. During that sting one of his major accomplishments was developing a safety policy around concussion prevention for the BCHSF.
Lalji admits his biggest challenge was making the decision to pursue broadcasting instead of one as a coach. “I do often wonder what life would have looked like if I’d chosen my other passion.”
He got involved with coaching so he could continue to be around his mentor, former Burnaby Central head coach Alex Reid. Sports served as his first connection as a young immigrant boy and eventually the field became his happy place.
“When you start as young as I did you feel you have a connection to kids that are only four to five years younger, but then when you realize you can make a difference it becomes addictive and I feel my communications skills also allowed me to learn what players needed.”
Lalji says his parents were always there to support him when he was younger, but the real game changer for him was his wife Mary. “She got involved in everything behind the scenes and made her own sacrifices so that I could make mine as a volunteer coach and builder.”
He also praises a bunch of people at NWSS and with the provincial organization who helped him in all those endeavours. The memories he cherishes the most in his community work are the relationships he had with students, coaches and parents.
“The wins and losses will come and go, but those relationships last so much longer. Seeing kids who struggled through their teenage years grow up to be strong leaders, fathers and successful in the work force is the most rewarding aspect of my time as a builder.”
While Lalji has worked in many corners of the sporting world he also has worked to help grow communities close to home.
